Small but deadly, the Trumpeter Swan-class frigate wields strong weapons for ship-to-ship combat.

Characteristics

At 270 meters in length, the Trumpeter Swan-class frigate, going by its namesake, resembles a Trumpeter Swan with neck stretched out and wings folded. About 60% of its weapons are located in the wings, while 40% are on its "neck." Underneath the wings, the maneuvering thrusters are mounted, like with most of Ackbar's warships. The bridge is located where the "eyes" of the swan would be, further enhancing its birdlike appearance. The main sublight drive assembly has the thrusters exposed to attacks from above. To compensate for this, the maneuvering thrusters can be used to propel the ship if the engines are damaged. The frigate maintains a Class 0.5 hyperdrive. Potent deflector shields and strong armor give the frigate good durability.

Armament

The frigate bristles with powerful energy weapons. Its arsenal totals in 10 scaled-down HPTT's, with 3 times the power of normal turbolasers, 12 ion cannons for anti-Replicator duty, and 6 Atomic Manipulation Energy torpedo tubes, similar to the ones on the Kestrelwing-class medium destroyer. It is, in a sense, the continuation of the HPTT and the AMEE projects.

Known Flaws

As a strict capital ship-to-capital ship vessel, the frigate possesses no anti-fighter weapons, as well as no hangar. Therefore, it must be protected by starfighters in the heat of battle. Also, explosions too close to the energy torpedo tubes can ignite the fusion plasma, setting off a massive and dangerous blast. This would have been the fate suffered by Ackbar and Phoenix when attacked by Wraith fighters, had Phoenix not quickly ejected all the fusion plasma. Third, the frigate is next-to-useless as a transport, since it barely holds any cargo beyond 2 years' consumables. The power requirements of the engines, weapons, shields, and hyperdrive require an enormously powerful reactor.